Hiring SDRs comes down to five steps: write the role around outcomes, source wider than job boards, screen for three traits rather than a CV, run a live mock cold call, and decide with a panel. A bad SDR hire costs a quarter of pipeline and a manager's credibility; the live call test is the cheapest insurance against it.

Step 1: write the role around outcomes, not adjectives

"Dynamic, resilient, hunter mindset" attracts everyone and filters nobody. Write what the seat produces and how. The job description should carry the daily routine (two calling blocks, 20 conversations a day, 30 prepared contacts each morning), the result targets (meetings held per month, AE acceptance rate above 60%), the tools provided, the pay split and the path to AE with its criteria.

In France, say in the first line whether the role is inbound, outbound or both, and whether it closes. "Business Developer" means full cycle to a French candidate; an outbound SDR offer with that title gets closers applying and quitting.

Step 2: source wider than the job board

The best SDR pools in France and Europe are rarely on the sales job boards.

• Career changers. Ex-recruiters, ex-hospitality, ex-teachers, ex-athletes. They have done rejection for a living and are used to a routine.
• Alternance and bootcamps. French sales bootcamps and business school alternance programmes produce candidates who already ran a cadence. Cheap to test, loyal when the path is clear.
• Your own prospects' SDRs. The rep who cold called you well last month is a candidate. Reply.
• Referrals from your reps. Pay for them. Reps know who hits quota at their old company.

Aim for 10 to 15 screening calls a week while the seat is open. A manager who screens three candidates hires the least bad one.

Step 3: screen for three traits

Skills are taught in onboarding. Three traits are not.

1. Resilience with a routine. Ask for the hardest thing they have done and how long it took. You want a story with a daily structure in it, not a single heroic week. 160 people a day will not pick up.
2. A reason that survives three bad weeks. "I like people" does not survive. "I want to be an AE in 18 months and I know this is the way" does. Push past the first answer.
3. Coachability. Tested in step 4, not in conversation. Everyone says they love feedback.

Ask them to tell their story in two minutes. The ability to be brief and structured on the phone is the job.

Step 4: the live mock cold call

This is the step that predicts performance, and it takes 20 minutes. Send the candidate a one-page brief the day before: your product in five lines, the persona, and one trigger on the fictional account (a job post, a funding round, a website visit). Then run the call live, you as the prospect.

Score four things from the 1,000,000-call benchmark we built with Quentin Despas (Katana):

• The opener. 65% of reps open by explaining what they sell, and that converts at 2-3%. A trigger-based opener converts at 7-10%. Did the candidate use the trigger in the brief?
• Questions. Discovery questions starting with "how" lift conversion by 190%. Count them.
• Objection reflex. Give one objection. Did they answer immediately, or ask "What do you mean?" first (+197% in the benchmark)?
• The close. Did they ask for a specific slot?

Then the part that matters: give two pieces of feedback and run the call again. The second call tells you about coachability. A candidate who applies one of the two notes is hireable. One who argues, or does the same call again, is not, whatever the CV says.

Step 5: decide with a panel and close honestly

Have three people score the mock call independently before talking: the hiring manager, an AE the SDR would feed, and someone outside sales. Managers hire people who remind them of themselves; a panel with a written scorecard hires the better candidate. It also builds the SDR's sponsor in the AE team before day one.

Then sell the job honestly. Say how many dials a day, how many hang-ups, what month ramp ends and what the promotion criteria are. The candidate who accepts after that stays past month 14. The one you oversold leaves at month six.

Then build the team: junior and senior mix

For a first SDR hire with no SDR manager, hire senior: someone with 18 months on quota who can build the routine for the next hires. After that, in our experience one senior per three or four juniors works, with the senior running call reviews. Parallel dialing narrows the gap on volume; juniors reach 20 conversations a day within weeks because the tool sets the pace. The gap stays on conversion, which is what the senior coaches.

Make the day-one setup part of the hiring plan: dialer, CRM access, a list with triggers, and a 30/60/90 plan written before the offer goes out. Ramp time is decided before the candidate arrives.

How Sonik approaches SDR hiring

We run step 4 on our own product. Candidates for our team, and for customers' teams who ask, do a 20-minute session on Sonik with a prepared list, which shows how they handle a parallel-dialing rhythm and a real connect, not just a scripted role play.

After the hire, the same screen gives the manager the ramp data: conversations per day, opener type, "how" questions and objection handling scored on every call. The traits you hired for become numbers you can coach from week one.

Conclusion

Hire SDRs on outcomes, source beyond the job boards, screen for three traits, and let a live mock call with a feedback round make the decision. This week, write the one-page mock call brief for your next candidate, with one trigger in it, and score the next interview on opener, questions, objection and close.